Real to Reel Productions is tackling a dark chapter in Chinese history with Iris Chang, a docudrama about the work of the late journalist and author who drew attention to little-known atrocities committed by the Japanese army in the 1930s.

The project stars Olivia Cheng (Broken Trail) as the young American writer who, in her 1997 book The Rape of Nanking, recounted the slaughter of nearly 300,000 men, women and children in the eastern Chinese city during its occupation by the Japanese Imperial Army in 1937-38. She committed suicide in 2004.

‘The book was an inspiration, but most of our research came from the people who knew her well,’ says Real to Reel’s Bill Spahic, who codirects with his wife and producer Anne Pick.

Pick read Chang’s book after a fundraising gala a year and a half ago, where speakers talked of their experiences visiting Nanking. ‘I started thinking about how we could tell this story,’ Pick tells Playback Daily.

Reel to Real (Ronnie Hawkins: Still Alive And Kickin’) went with a docudrama approach, using clips of Chang, present-day interviews with her family, archival footage and re-enactments to tie the story together.

The crew, including cinematographer Russell Gienapp (Trudeau’s Other Children), traveled to Nanking in December to film a commemorative ceremony, and began interviewing survivors of the massacre. The production wraps at the end of April, following shoots in South Korea, Shanghai, Nanking, Japan, New York and California. Post will be completed at Real to Reel’s office in Toronto.

Hong Kong’s Dadi Entertainment is the distributor for Asia through executive producer John Sham. No Canadian distributor is attached.

‘There are large Chinese communities around the world and this is an important story to them,’ says Spahic, adding that they’re talking to theatrical and TV distributors in Europe and the U.S.